English students and teachers who brave Shakespeare's plays will find a rich literary experience filled with moments of piercing emotion, thrilling drama, and keen insight into human nature.
Shakespeare's language, however, rooted as it is in the speech of Elizabethan England, can at times be a challenge for secondary English students. Some argue, in fact, that the Bard's works of comedy and tragedy aren't suitable for middle school at all, and should be reserved solely for high school and beyond.1
Many secondary ELA teachers seem to feel as if the rewards are well worth the effort. We've found that Shakespeare's plays — particularly Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Othello — continue to be popular choices for English curriculum in the U.S.
Whether you're tackling these widely taught works or leading your English Language Arts students into a deeper appreciation of Shakespeare's other plays, we at Prestwick House want to do what we can to make the task of introducing the marvels of this renowned playwright an easier and more rewarding experience for you.
To that end, we've gathered together a wealth of resources that are designed for use in the secondary English classroom.
We hope you'll find something here that will help increase the frequency with which you see the joyful spark of literary enjoyment light up the eyes of your English students.